Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife. Therefore in this Court, at least, it is not a condition of immunity that one in that situation should pause to consider whether a reasonable man might not think it possible to fly with safety or to disable his assailant rather than to kill him.--- Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) - "OSC’s primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing."

Law and Policy Institutions - "In addition to domestic legal topics, this site provides information on significant international treaties, journals, and legal databases ranging from antiquity to the present and representing all nationalities."

The National Advocacy Center (NAC) is operated by the Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys. The facility was built to train federal, state, and local prosecutors and litigators in advocacy skills and management of legal operations ....

The Advocacy Trainer, A Manual for Supervisors, by the Criminal Law Department, the Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army - addresses handling of variety of evidence, direct examination, cross-examination, and other phases of a case/trial

Political Activity (Hatch Act), from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel -- "a discussion of restrictions on political activity by federal government employees, and by employees of certain state and local government agencies, under the Hatch Act."

NOTE: 22 Jan 2009 - President Obama signed a series of Executive Orders that amongst other actions,

Executive Order requires closure of the Guantanamo detention center no later than one year from the date of the Order. Closure of the facility is the ultimate goal but not the first step. The Order establishes a review process with the goal of disposing of the detainees before closing the facility.

Executive Order creates a Special Task Force, co-chaired by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, to conduct a review of detainee policy going forward. The group will consider policy options for apprehension, detention, trial, transfer, or release of detainees.

Executive Order revokes Executive Order 13440 that interpreted Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. It requires that all interrogations of detainees in armed conflict, by any government agency, follow the Army Field Manual interrogation guidelines. The Order also prohibits reliance on any Department of Justice or other legal advice concerning interrogation that was issued between September 11, 2001 and January 20, 2009.

Stick to the High Ground (local copy), by Jackson, in The Army Lawyer, July 2005 - "Rather than flout the laws of war, coalition forces have generally held to the policy that the Geneva and Hague Conventions are applicable in any armed conflict, no matter how characterized." - discussion of Iraq war re: civilians, POWs, and other asymmetrical warfare issues

War is an expensive, destructive luxury few can afford. Global order may well depend on a new balance of power much like the ones that existed for centuries before World War
II. In this environment, Just War theory assumes greater relevance. In relative terms, international law is an exhausted force, and traditional models of legitimacy like Just War will fill the void, although neither will stop states from asserting sovereignty when their interests dictate. Realpolitik has replaced the idealism ascendant for the past two decades.

My contention is that the military occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq failed not because of the two countries’ lack of democratic development prior to military occupation, but rather due to the type of wars that preceded them. World War II was a total war that ended with the total defeat of the Axis, and this allowed the Allies to carry out transformative military occupations. In a transformative military occupation, the political aim of the military government is not only radical regime change, but also the introduction of new
ideological and normative paradigms.

This primer provides the practitioner with a framework for determining the proper method for charging an American servicemember accused of committing war crimes. Compared to charging traditional offenses, charging war crimes offers more options and potential pitfalls to the trial counsel drafting the charge sheet.

Genocide is defined as a list of prohibited acts, such as killing or causing serious harm, committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.

As set out in the Statute, crimes against humanity include crimes such as the extermination of civilians, enslavement, torture, rape, forced pregnancy, persecution on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious or gender grounds, and enforced disappearances - but only when they are part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

The "widespread or systematic" qualification for crimes against humanity is very important, as it provides a higher threshold, requiring a particular magnitude and/or scope before a crime qualifies for the Court's jurisdiction. This differentiates random acts of violence - such as rape, murder, or even torture - that could be carried out, perhaps even by soldiers in uniform, but which may not actually qualify as crimes against humanity.

War crimes include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of the laws and customs that can be applied in international armed conflict, and in armed conflict "not of an international character", as listed in the Statute, when they are committed as part of a plan or policy or on a large scale.

The presence or movements of the civilian population or individual civilians shall not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations, in particular in attempts to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield, favour or impede military operations. The Parties to the conflict shall not direct the movement of the civilian population or individual civilians in order to attempt to shield military objectives from attacks or to shield military operations.

The Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM), United States (2012 Edition) updates the MCM (2008 Edition). It is a complete reprinting and incorporates the MCM (2008 Edition), including all amendments to the Rules for Courts-Martial, Military Rules of Evidence (Mil. R. Evid.), and Punitive Articles made by the President in Executive Orders (EO) from 1984 to present, and specifically including EO 13468 (24 July 2008); EO 13552 (31 August 2010); and EO 13593 (13 December 2011). See Appendix 25. This edition also contains amendments to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) made by the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2009 through 2012.

(c) Before a vote is taken on the findings, the military judge or
the president of a court-martial without a military judge shall, in
the presence of the accused and counsel, instruct the members of
the court as to the elements of the offense and charge them -

(1) that the accused must be presumed to be innocent until his
guilt is established by legal and competent evidence beyond
reasonable doubt;
(2) that in the case being considered, if there is a reasonable
doubt as to the guilt of the accused, the doubt must be resolved
in favor of the accused and he must be acquitted;
(3) that, if there is a reasonable doubt as to the degree of
guilt, the finding must be in a lower degree as to which there is
no reasonable doubt; and
(4) that the burden of proof to establish the guilt of the
accused beyond reasonable doubt is upon the United States.

All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.

United Nations, Article 51

Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.

particularly good discussion of the history of laws of war, jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and legal basis for use of force

be sure to check from other sources for updates since this handbook was published - for instance, in the area of prisoners of war and detainees

Stick to the High Ground (local copy), by Jackson, in The Army Lawyer, July 2005 - "Rather than flout the laws of war, coalition forces have generally held to the policy that the Geneva and Hague Conventions are applicable in any armed conflict, no matter how characterized." - discussion of Iraq war re: civilians, POWs, and other asymmetrical warfare issues

"The modern law of war as we know it today actually began when President Lincoln commissioned Professor -- Dr. Francis Lieber to write a code for Union forces during the American Civil War. The Lieber Code, as it's known -- it was also U.S. Army General Order No. 100, and it was published in 1863 -- that really formed the foundation for everything we have in our modern law of war today. Professor Lieber didn't make it up. He actually went through history to find the practice of nations, and I think that's a very important point here, to understand that this is the way nations feel that they should conduct military operations."

preemptive attack - (DOD) An attack initiated on the basis of incontrovertible evidence that an enemy attack is imminent

preventive war - (DOD) A war initiated in the belief that military conflict, while not imminent, is inevitable, and that to delay would involve greater risk

preventive deployment - (DOD) The deployment of military forces to deter violence at the interface or zone of potential conflict where tension is rising among parties. Forces may be employed in such a way that they are indistinguishable from a peacekeeping force in terms of equipment, force posture, and activities. See also peace enforcement; peacekeeping; peace operations.

US Code: Title 42, Chapter 68, Section 5170a - General Federal assistance - "In any major disaster, the President may direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to utilize its authorities and the resources granted to it under Federal law (including personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and managerial, technical, and advisory services) in support of State and local assistance efforts"

"Scott Fraser studies how humans remember crimes -- and bear witness to them. In this powerful talk, which focuses on a deadly shooting at sunset, he suggests that even close-up eyewitnesses to a crime can create "memories" they could not have seen. Why? Because the brain abhors a vacuum."

Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) "is a database of laws, regulations, and other complementary legal sources. The documents included in the database are contributed by the governments of the members from the original, official texts which are deposited, by agreement of the members, in a server presently located at the Library of Congress of the United States of America"

Law and Policy Institutions - "In addition to domestic legal topics, this site provides information on significant international treaties, journals, and legal databases ranging from antiquity to the present and representing all nationalities."

"The ILEAs serve a broad range of foreign policy and law enforcement purposes for the United States and for the world. In addition to helping protect American citizens and businesses through strengthened international cooperation against crime, the ILEAs' mission is to buttress democratic governance through the rule of law; enhance the functioning of free markets through improved legislation and law enforcement; and increase social, political, and economic stability by combating narcotics trafficking and crime." [from State Department page on Purpose of ILEAs]

Civil law is the dominant legal tradition today in most of Europe, all of Central
and South America, parts of Asia and Africa, and even some discrete areas of
the common-law world (e.g., Louisiana, Quebec, and Puerto Rico). Public
international law and the law of the European Community are in large part the
product of persons trained in the civil-law tradition. Civil law is older, more
widely distributed, and in many ways more influential than the common law.

Despite the prominence of the civil-law tradition, judges and lawyers trained
in the common-law tradition tend to know little about either the history or
present-day operation of the civil law. Beyond the most basic generalities—e.g.,
the common law follows an "adversarial" model while civil law is more
"inquisitorial," civil law is "code-based," civil-law judges do not interpret the
law but instead follow predetermined legal rules—judges and lawyers from the
United States seldom have any deeper sense of the civil-law tradition.

This overview is designed for judges and lawyers who seek to expand their
knowledge of the civil-law tradition and who might wish to consider the civil law
system as a source of legal reforms